What is happening ?
by golden lies
Summary: COMPLETED....third and final part...not good at this summary business. Read it . Please Review
1. Default Chapter

A/n : Ban + Jackal. Part one, lemme know if i should continue.

Discalimer : don't own em.

What is happening ?

Dr Jackal was having a hard time breathing. Kyoji-kun , in a sudden display of forethought , had filled the air with diamond dust and then invited him for the fight. He had discovered that a nanosecond too late. By then , he had been slashed conceivably every where by mirror shards. He smiled wryly into the darkness and shook his head. Too careless. Footsteps were heard. Maybe Kyoji-kun was coming to kill him...or for that matter somebody else ? he did not have many friends, that was well known.  
" Well, well ...if it isn't the famous doctor "  
The sneering voice was well known. Too bad , Mr Mido should come just then...what x pity.  
Ban looked down at him with that insolent gaze of his. Akabane looked up at him with his usual freeze-your-blood glance and even managed his trademark smile even though he felt far from smiling.  
" I would love to exchange barbs with you Mr Mido but as you can see i am a trifle incapacitated. Kindly leave me alone"  
Ban appeared to be smirking but at this , very strangely he became serious. "I will do nothing of the sort "  
" Taking pity on me , Mr Mido ? should not have ...at this , a cry of pain shattered the tense silence as Akabane pulled out another shard from his person. His breath became more constricted. It was sometime before he could speak again, blood loss was weakening him and his polite mask slipped away for an instant as he snapped at Ban.  
" leave me alone Mr Mido. Go away"  
" and if I do not "  
with x lot of effort ,Akabane pulled out scalpel and threw it at him. The speed was insufficient and he fainted away from sheer exhaustion.

AKABANE'S POV:

I woke up in what appeared to be moderately lighted room. I seemed to be lying on bed. My hand went over my body cautiously as the memory of my wounds came back to me. I was clothed in bandages, amateur ones, as the medical instinct in me took over. I tried bringing out my scalpels...They came out easily slicing through bandages. Good, at least my defense mechanism was intact.  
" so you finally woke up . How do you feel "  
I started at the sudden sound and looked round . Mr Mido had been standing at window behind my bed looking at me with very strange expression...almost relief though that is very unlikely. I shook of the thought and decided to be polite to my preserver.  
" Fine , thank you. " It was all I could manage at the moment . Mr Mido 's expression was getting harder for me to understand. He looked hurt. Interesting.  
"Great, I thought for moment you wouldn't pull through "  
I was confused.  
" You actually worried bout me ?" My voice held disbelief. It was obvious. No one bothered bout my well being since I started my career. I didn't particularly give them reason to.  
" I guess I kind of was"  
I shook my head. Ban Mido wielder of Jagan and Snakebite , whose pet hobby was to hate me was actually worried about me. Maybe it was dream. One of those famous one-minuters the guy usually doles out. As the minute dragged out , I shut my eyes . I kept on repeating to my self that this was dream but two things happened. One : a strange feeling crept over me...one that I had never experienced before. Two :Mr Mido kissed me.

BAN'S POV:

I saw Jackal close his eyes and murmur something, as if he was struggling to convince himself about something. It was then I did something totally out of character with me . I leaned over and kissed him. His lips were just as I expected- warm and full of life.. I saw his eyes flutter open in shock and disbelief. I waited for few scalpels to come out , yet he remained strangely still, the expression fixed on his face.  
I was disappointed. Trust this guy to behave like that. I should not have pulled his sorry ass out of hot water. I sighed and passed into the next room . In the mirror I caught his expression. He was motionless like statue . I could not have achieved better effect if I had Jaganed him. But that wasn't what I had wanted.

AKABANE'S POV :

I wa too dazed to move . The shock was immense. In slow motion, I saw Mr Mido wait and then that expression of hurt on his face again, something clutched at my heart and seemed to be twisting it round...then he left the room...before I could react or reciprocate. Did I want to reciprocate ? I don't know. I just don't know. What I do know is when I got up and went to the next room , he wasn't there. I discovered it was a hotel and that Mr Mido had paid for everything I would require. But he had left. That strange twisting feeling in my heart became more pronounced somehow .

BAN'S POV :

I decided to leave . Jackal could doubtless take care of himself. I went back to Honky tonk but apparently my heart and mind were left with him because all I remembered was his labored breaths as he slept through the night and my anxiety about him. That bastard almost made me panic when he stopped breathing for sec. and as I sat there by his bedside, it was then I realized that my hatred for him was just cloak. He was right. We re the same and I loved him for that. I examined the word in my head...yes I did. And Jackal would be after me with fangs and scalpels as soon as he is fit. But will I be able to fight him ? I don't know.

ABABANE'S POV :

I took two days to recover physically but mentally I seemed to have retarded. Day in, day out , those two eyes haunted me . I could not eat , sleep or breathe. It was high time I did something before my life goes completely out of control. I smiled at my reflection. A few scalpels came out . They were so attuned to me.  
I went to the Honky Tonk after a week . My quarry was absent. A shivering Ginji transformed into tare and revealed that his precious Ban Chan had gone to the park . Very unusual . I assured Ginji with my sly smile that I was not planning on killing him...I spoke truth but Ginji misunderstood me . I wonder why ? Maybe , it was because I was transferring a scalpel from one hand to another.  
At the park , I saw Ban sitting on bench with his back to me . I knew he sensed me but he did not react...time for my surprise...

I brought out few scalpels and before he could realize , I had pushed him to the ground and pinned him firmly with my blades. The blades cut through his shoulders, wrists and thighs and I used unnecessary force because I wanted to see if that twisting pain in my heart would leave. But as time went on , Ban did nothing to free himself, I got more and more confused. That feeling returned with inexplicable ferocity. In anger more scalpels left my body and pierced his. The pain had to be immense. Still he did not move. He just endured the pain and as I continued to watch , two large tear drops rolled out from his eyes and marking their path down his cheeks, they fell to the ground. What is happening ?

enjoy :)

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	2. Chapter 2

A/n : Thanx for liking it so far , this part comes with a twist. see if you you like it . i have thought up another part 2 so if u dont like this one , i will post the other. lemme know. in the mean time read :)

Disclaimer : nope , i dont own em but they certainly own me.

? (silly name for a chapter but fitting , dont u think )

Ban's POV:

I had sensed him approaching...his pungent yet powerful aura.i could almost taste the blood in it, it was coming closer and closer...  
And then he attacked me... the wrenching pain as the blades sliced through skin and bone , i almost blacked out but those eyes ...they held me back. I could read the question in them as clearly as though it was said aloud but then i saw that he was in denial, to be exact he had not even accepted me. He denied what his heart was telling him and i could do nothing...absolutely nothing... I could not bear it any longer and i...Hell. I could immediately tell that that had disgusted and confused him. He stood up and adjusted his hat. The scalpels returned to him causing fresh wounds as they left my body and then he just walked away...just like that.

Akabane strode away. He had to admit that Mido's reaction was beginning to freak him out. Just when he thought that he could not be suprised anymore...well , no use in thinking. What disturbed him even more were his own reactions to the whole affair. Maybe he had underestimated his abilities. It seemed that Mr Mido was in love with him . He examined the sentence again. Love...He had to admit that this was a novel experience, amusing in a way.And the worst part of it was that he could not help but reciprocate...though not in conventional ways. No, that would never do. He smiled. So Kurodo Akabane was in love huh ?  
But if it interfered with his career, well...  
But he could not help feeling that something was very wrong...  
This wasn't the way things were supposed to happen...  
Most importantly , he wasn't supposed to care.

"And that is how the matter stands at present ...Sir ."  
The Sir was added a little later .It was accompanied by a sarcastic smile. The other man stood with folded arms , frowning...he was plunged into deep thought. So deep was his reverie that he did not notice the intent gaze of a man, attired in pristine white.  
Kagami stood watching his superior as he paced about the room. He pushed his hands into his pocket as he waited...not that he minded waiting , after all , when one is here to observe, one does not mind waiting specially when the assignment is so interesting... not to mention the the subjects.

Kagami , in general , was a dispassionate observer. Ever since his descent from the superior Babylon City , he had found nothing to interest him personally. Humans and their petty emotions were mundane , good to observe but nothing to arouse except contempt . The ex volts members were different ofcourse but it was not that interesting. However , he had to thank Makubex for the introduction to two very arresting personalities namely Dr Jackal and Mr Mido.  
A personal interest...?  
Perhaps that wpould explain why he took up the assignment.It was quite amusing at first but now , things seemed to be getting out of hand.  
Kagami could not remain dettached any he ?

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Hope you like how its going so far. please review.


	3. Chapter 3

A/n : Thanx for the reviews...and thanx to amisu chan who beta read the story

Disclaimer : The sleepy usual

.Please review...

The assignment:

Two perfect professionals.. yet the perfect smiles were beginning to wear a little thin. The observer could not help the twinge of irritation that kept surfacing whenever he saw that serpent anywhere near the transporter...it made him want to bring out a diamond shard ...a swift move... a beautiful red line across his throat and watch the blood trickle down...down and down forming a trail on his white coat ...he remembered the time Ban Midou had hit him..a humiliation...especially when he was way faster than him. But he couldn't, not in front of the elder...he did not like Ban Midou.

The transporter...he measured his jobs by the amount of amusement he could derive from this...and no one could deny that the amusement quotient was at its height...whereas Kagami was turning a pretty green with envy; Mr. Midou was making a perfect fool out of himself. He unlocked the door and entered his apartment and looked around approving, a dark and metal world. He sat down on the sofa and crossed his legs...what had he planned to do? Oh yes. He pulled out a vial from his pocket. Time to...analyze...

Hours passed...

Akabane looked up at the clock, it was almost 3 in the night...this last test...he had another assignment tonight...very carefully he addeda greyish fluid to a sample of the vial's contents...a silent reaction, no residue, endothermic... He looked at the contents of thetest tube and smiled...what the doctor had taken for granted was his nickname... too bad...the smile suddenly vanished ..concern replaced it. The components of the vial's contents were...disturbing. And it seemed that Ban Midou's life was in danger,

And why did he care? Because he was in love? Far from it. One of his most precious enemies was in danger. That and the key to unlocking the true power of the man named Kurodo Akabane aka Dr Jackal.

And what about Ban Midou? His Day was spent in thinking about Dr Jackal. His accepted good sense had taken a backseat and even Ginji seemed to be more sensible than him...but he could not help it . Now he understood why high school girls giggled and blushed. He did pretty much the same nowadays, everything reminded him of the doctor, his rational part laughed itself to stitches and everyone sniggered and passed sly comments but nothing seemed to have an effect. His heart was officially controlling him...

The bell rang and Ban jumped out of his Akabane themed reverie...oh only Kagami...if it was...and kept on staring at Kagami abstractedly, picturing Akabane's face and Kagami fought a dangerous war with his almost overwhelming urge to wipe that dumb expression off his face.

Kagami sat down at one of the booths, his face held the smile. His temper was reaching a boiling point as his imagination supplied beautiful scenarios concerning those two. The cool and impersonal observer was receding and in its place a human being was coming into view...so human so as to completely raw. And Akabane observing this was getting a bit worried. He had entered the coffee shop and taken a booth and watching both Ban and Kagami. Ban was giving him those coy glances that made him really really ill and Kagami was staring into blank space, clenching and unclenching his fingers...

How would it be if he killed them right away? No worries, two beautiful corpses...and two people less in his deathlist.Wishful thinking...a sporting man he was to his fingertips. Kill the small fry and keep the big ones...that was his motto. But a way out of this? He did not want Ban the stalker on his hands, or Ban the corpse...as would happen if he did not step in. Ban needed an antidote, if that existed and Kagami? He knew exactly what he needed. Kagami was getting a bit too sure of himself lately; this matter could well bring him about, if Akabane proceeded carefully.

A visit to the doctor was top priority, surely he loved his life?

His scalpels danced wonderfully against the red and black background as a few guards fell down. Not that it was necessary, he had the passkey but he had not killed for such a long time...the tangy scent of blood, he opened the door. A brightly lit white hallway...an equally white laboratory...a sharp prick of the needle...taken unawares...and silence.

Akabane sat on the sofa admiring his work...red was a beautiful colour and the doctor looked stunning up there on the wall like a wall hanging, pinned firmly with scalpels, really it brightened his apartment. The doctor's face was contracted, pain evident on his face .Pain was a requirement in a Dr Jackal experience, and Akabane was taking special care of his guest...

"Now "and he looked so happy, "will you kindly tell me about the antidote?"

" there...is...none" the doctor's reply was punctuated by gasps..." when the elders hear about this, they ...Ahhhhhhhhhhh" Another scalpel had entered his body.

"The elders have all my respect but they will not interfere where Dr Jackal is concerned...they wouldn't make such a mistake. And you know that just as well, oto-chan"

"Why Akabane? Why turn against your family to protect an outsider. Believe me...once I discover the secret of his evil eye, it will be yours ..."

"But Mr. Midou will be dead."

"What is it to you? You will have no more competition . You aren't in love...Owwwwwwww. Please...Akabane...no more..."

"That is entirely up to you. But you know what? I will make this more interesting." and he produced another syringe. "This ", he continued conversationally, "is a synthetic poison, of my own makingof course.I used certain molecules of ...species of snail and replicated them. The poison is,needless to say, very potent . And the moment it enters your bloodstream, it starts killing you...Very...very slowly. Antidote must be administered within two hours failing which death . And since you don't have the antidote, I think will kill you. In fact..." at this point he placed the tip of the needle on the skin and smiled. His brother writhed on the wall, to no avail and looked at him, the terror obvious in his eyes..." Wait, there is an antidote, it's in my lab."

"I knew there would be." and he pressed the end of the syringe.

He tossed the syringe onto the floor. And moved his hands. The scalpels returned to his body and he watched as his brother fell to the floor. He sat down on the sofa. "I suggest you get the antidote and by the way, no amount of research will help you. I made a few chemical additions of my own, you know. And if my dear brother, I do not get the antidote within the hour, even before the poison kills you, I will. You trust me, don't you? Of course you do. Kurodos are famed for their commonsense. " And he entered his kitchen. He had to cook the dinner. No takeout today. After all...

He surveyed the meal with satisfaction. He picked up the receiver. a cell phone rang annoyingly somewhere waking them from their beautiful daydream." Hello "Ban sounded irritated.

"Good evening Mr. Midou."

"What do you want?" The words were rough but the tone was amazingly softened in an instant.

"The pleasure of dining with you "

"Huh...wHAt?"

"Today, at my apartment?"

"I d..don't know, i..uh..have plans, yeah plans"

Playing hard to get eh...

"Well, in that case, lets..."

"No, no, uh m.its all right, I'll come."

"But your plans..."

"Its...er...ok, uh I will cancel them...uhh , I have to go ,bye"

"Mr. Midou, do you know where I live ?"

"No...yeah..Whats your address..Uh yeah, yeah, Kozomi Street, ok, yeah got it. Yeah bye."

From his position at the booth, Kagami overheard everything. Kozomi street...so , he had invited him to the apartment...Kagami turned a pretty shade of purple .It almost matched his shirt.

Kagami remained seated at the booth, a mini turmoil raging inside him. He had recently before this assignment, fought with Akabane...a trivial thing that blew all out of proportion. And they had not tried to resolve it. Being the professionals that they were, they had accepted the assignment but it was like the Artic when they had to meet or discuss strategy. Neither had condescended so far and if he did, it meant that Dr would get the upper hand, and if he did not, Ban Midou would replace him. That two timing psycho! Suddenly, Kagami calmed down.

The doorbell rang and Akabane opened it. Almost immediately, a pungent smelling gas began to filter into the room. The gas covered almost everything with its dark fumes, blocking out the light. Akabane lay on the floor, unconscious. His brother entered the apartment, wearing a gas mask.

So, oni-san, you did not expect this, huh? Poor little brother...so powerless right? Lets, see. The antidote...He bent down to extract the vial from his pockets, and inexplicably he found a glass shard sticking in his hand. It took a moment for the pain to register. The shard had had gone right through. He began screaming and got up, trying in vain to get the shard out. He looked up and saw himself surrounded by his reflection, all of them screaming in pain, the reflection changed and he saw Kagami all around him , approaching him from all directions holding a very sharp glass shard in his hand. He screamed and tried to back out and bumped into Kagami...as he raised his hand...

The doctor fainted and the images vanished. The apartment came into view. And Akabane was leaning against the wall, watching him. "How ...how ?"

"I think you have seen how I remained unaffected by Diamond dust before...is it so hard to explain?"

"Then you were just pretending ...?"

"Observing is the word I had in mind."

Kagami turned on his heel and walked out. He would deal with him later; He still had his brother to deal with.

And there he was, stirring. He opened his eyes slowly, then, as memory returned to him, he clutched at his hand and stared at it , he sat up and looked around and his eyes rested on his brother . He was smiling and transferring the scalpel from one hand to another...

"So, dear brother, you hoped to kill me, I must say, I am very pleased with you. a fine display of spirit which I previously thought you lacked , and don't take the trouble of searching your pockets, I already took the gun and the vial...its the antidote I presume? Thought you would play it safe? Well, I will soon administer it to Midou and if I do not see the effects I desire..." He smiled. He had been approaching his brother and his brother had been moving back, ultimately hitting the wall...He now looked up into Akabane's face as he held the scalpel...the doorbell rang.

Akabane seemed to be in no hurry to answer it, he still smiled sweetly at his brother ...such an exhilarating reaction...eyes dilated with fear, eyes on the scalpel, he had seen the reaction so many times and it never failed to entrance him...the power he held over people...his brother...He turned around, and sharp glowing things left his body...

Ban stood ringing the doorbell, once, twice , thrice ...uh door opening ...say something,uh... "Hi...er...Jackal."

"Come in Mr. Midou ... Glad to see you...do sit down...anything to drink? How about wine? Yes?.Allright."

He poured out the glasses and emptied the contents into one of the glasses. If his brother had given him the wrong thing, well, knowing his brother, he did not think, but he had tried to. Still...

Ban's heart gave a leap as he saw Akabane at the doorway with the two glasses...so...no, no,...yet...

Ban accepted the glass and turned a brilliant red as their fingers touched and it was all Akabane could do not to break into his smile. He watched as Ban slowly sipped his wine.

He smiled in encouragement and raised his and drank some. Red wine was Midou 's favourite and a particularly fine wine it was. Ban slowly drank of the whole...and fainted...hmm similar reactions to the original drug...now lets see the aftereffects. He stood by the sofa and watched the limp form.

I wonder if he will be grateful. Probably not. But his ego will definitely suffer when his friends tell him how he behaved. And that in his opinion would do the invincible Ban Midou a world of good. He would be mad and if he wanted to fight...A scalpel flew from one hand to another...it would be his pleasure... Time to see if his brother was to live or die. He shook Ban. "Oh Mr. Midou...wakey, wakey..."

" Huh..ummmm...where..argggggggghh, you ? Psycho freak ...wait, where am I? Where is Ginji? If you hurt him, you are in so much trouble...where am i?"

"You are in my apartment."

"What? How did I get here? Where is Ginji !"

"Relax, why do you assume I would hurt Ginji ? Ginji kun is fine."

"Relax? With you around? Are you kidding? Tell me the truth or I will choke it out of you."

Akabane turned to face the screaming Ban. "I will accept the second proposition."

Ban suddenly relaxed and lit a cigarette. "That's what you want isn't it? Give it up, I already beat you didn't I?"

"Admittedly yes, in a semi virtual world but in the real world? Let's put it to test. I warned you, you should have finished me when you had the chance."

"And I told you that I will always beat you ...see ya "

Akabane smiled at the open doorway...

You can run but...

"Breaking up so soon? Really, you must treat your boyfriends better, Dr Jackal. They all run away..."

"Not all. Why are you here? "

Ahh yes, as I expected...

I won't let you have it so easy , my dear Kyoji-kun.

"Just dropped by to observe."

"Well, the party is over . "

"I guess I shall be leaving then." The last words were addressed to Akabane's back.

"Shut the door behind you."

Kagami stood at the doorway thinking...if he walked out now, he would lose the doctor but if he ...well , he would never be able to command respect in the relation again, Akabane would take advantage of the situation and make a puppet out of him and yet , what did it matter ? He wanted to be near Akabane, with him and if for that he had to swallow his pride, well...

"What are you thinking about? He looked up to see Akabane had reappeared with a glass of wine and was observing him from over the rim...not a trace of emotion in them...yet.

"I ...I ...uh ...Akabane."

"What?"

"I am ...that is ...I didn't mean to. About that matter...I am sorry. Please if..."

"But, Kagami, you said that you want to have nothing to do with me and when I asked you if you were sure, you said yes?"

"Uh...i ...actually was pretty angry then...please?" He looked up and saw Akabane…the same fixed stare in his eyes.

"You do realize, Kyoji-kun , what this means ?'

He said Kyoji-kun. There may still be...I kept quiet...he would mete out some kind of punishment, I waited...

Finally, Kagami -kun is breaking down...I don't mean to draw this out , so I go and hug him, and he is very compliant...no struggles.

I dare not make a sound and then he leans into my ear." Kyoji-kun, I will pay you back later on." The voice, the very tone makes my blood freeze.

He drew away from me and smiled. " Just one more matter to deal with.." and took me into the kitchen. There, on the wall, glaring at us...

"I knew it...you two would betray me."

"Betray? Not at all, doctor. Sorry sir. Perhaps it would interest you to know that the elders asked me to observe you."

"And dear brother, we were asked to play along...you had become extraordinarily secretive of late. You see, you are completely at my mercy and I have more than enough reason to carve a j on your body. But I choose not to. You should be grateful to Kagami for that. "

Two men appeared at the doorway. "And,also the elders...they want tohave a little chat with you." The scalpels returned to him as his brother slumped to the floor. He was hauled of the ground and escorted out of the apartment.

Akabane turned to Kagami.

At the Honky Tonk.

Ban opened the door and immediately everyone stopped talking. He was surprised. Everyone was staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing ..." Kazuki smiled brightly at him.Shido sniggered. Himiko smiled sweetly, Ginji slyly...

"What? What's wrong?"

"Is that cologne I smell?" That was Hevn.

"Huh? Yeah...how'd this stuff get on me? And why was I wearing a damn tux?"

"How was your date, Ban?" Natsumi asked.

"Date, what date?"

"Your date with Akabane ...don't tell me you forgot?"

"Arrghhhhhhhhhhhhh...are you crazy? Me go out on a date with him ? "

"But Ban -chan , you said you were in love with him..."

"What!"

"Yeah ...you even went shopping with Kazuki ...you bought the tux...said you wanted to look good for the occasion, and..."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTT/"

And as Akabane had predicted, his pride took a severe beating...

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Wasn't it nice ? let me know...


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